California Warehouse Location Network Study

Business Challenge

Southern Wine & Spirits of America is the #1 US distributor of wine and spirits, with operations in 19 states. In addition to importing and distributing wine and spirits, it sells imported brews, such as Grolsch and Steinlager; cigars, such as Don Diego and Montecristo; and nonalcoholic beverages, including Clamato and Rose’s Lime Juice. Southern Wine & Spirits California warehouse network was not adequate to handle year-after-year double digit annual sales growth. They wanted to have an analysis conducted to identify the optimized warehouse network locations.

How WCL Consulting Helped

WCL Consulting, along with Tompkins Associates, conducted a California warehouse location network optimization study. Factors analyzed included:

• Customer demand by product and service level requirements
• Plant locations, number of lines, production costs, and supplier locations
• Location, costs, and sizes of warehouses
• Transportation modes and costs for each location
• List of products and their attributes

The California Warehouse Location Network Optimization report was used by Southern Wine & Spirits of America to identify and negotiate new warehouse leases.